Best Canon R100 Settings for Beginners: What to Change First

The best Canon EOS R100 settings for a beginner are a short list: move out of A+ mode when you feel ready, set autofocus to match your subject, turn on Eye Detection, keep ISO as low as the light allows, and shoot RAW so you can fix mistakes later. Everything else on this camera can wait until those few choices feel natural.

Why a few settings matter so much on the R100

The R100 has a 24.1-megapixel APS-C sensor and a DIGIC 8 processor. Canon describes it as ideal for people using an interchangeable-lens camera for the first time. Digital Camera World puts it this way: the camera is simple enough to shoot great images in auto, but it shows its real strengths in semiautomatic and manual modes.

That is good news for you. You do not need to learn every menu. You need to learn a handful of settings that change how your pictures look, and then practice them.

Here are the specs that shape the choices in this guide.

Feature	Canon EOS R100
Sensor	24.1MP APS-C, DIGIC 8 processor
ISO range	100 to 12800, expandable to 25600
Autofocus	Dual Pixel CMOS AF, up to 143 distance measurement areas
Subject detection	Humans: eyes, face, head, body
Burst speed	About 6.5 fps in One-Shot AF, about 3.5 fps in Servo AF
Burst depth	97 JPEG, 17 C-RAW
Rear screen	3-inch fixed, 1.04 million dots, not touch sensitive
Viewfinder	OLED, 2.36 million dots
Card and battery	Single UHS-I SD slot, LP-E17 battery
Weight	About 356 g

Setting 1: Pick the right shooting mode

Start in A+ with no guilt

In A+ mode, the R100 works out the settings for you so you can catch the moment. There is nothing wrong with starting here. Use it for a week and pay attention to what the camera picks.

Try Creative Assist next

The Digital Picture notes that beginners ready for the next step can use Creative Assist aided adjustments, all the way up to full manual control. Digital Camera World also points to the R100's guided user interface and friendly menus. Think of Creative Assist as training wheels: you change how the picture looks, and the camera helps you understand what changed.

Then move to aperture priority, and later manual

Every photo comes from three settings working together. Here is the simple version:

• Aperture is like the pupil of your eye. A wide opening lets in lots of light and blurs the background behind your subject. A small opening lets in less light and keeps more of the scene sharp.
• Shutter speed is like a door opening and closing. A quick door freezes a running dog. A slow door lets moving things smear.
• ISO is like a volume knob. Turning it up makes a dark scene brighter, but it also adds hiss, which shows up as grain.

In aperture priority, you pick the pupil size and the camera picks the door speed. That means you only juggle one setting while you learn. When that feels easy, try manual mode, where you set all three. If your first manual photos come out too dark or too bright, that is not failure. It is your camera showing you exactly which knob to turn next time.

Setting 2: Choose RAW so you can fix mistakes

A RAW file is like keeping the whole cake recipe instead of just a slice. You can go back and change the brightness later with far less damage.

In The Digital Picture's testing, R100 RAW files shot from 3 stops too dark to 3 stops too bright were corrected in Canon Digital Photo Professional, software included with the camera. That kind of room is a big safety net while you are learning exposure.

There is one trade-off. Digital Camera World lists the R100's burst depth at 97 JPEGs but only 17 C-RAW files. So if you are shooting a long burst of a kid's soccer game, JPEG lets you keep going longer. For everyday learning, pick RAW.

Setting 3: Set autofocus for what you are shooting

The R100 uses Dual Pixel CMOS AF, with up to 143 separate distance measurement areas. Digital Camera World calls it the same hybrid AF system that powers professional DSLRs like the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. In plain words: you can trust it to do a lot of the work.

One-Shot AF for things that stay still

One-Shot AF focuses once and holds. Use it for portraits of people sitting still, food, buildings and landscapes. In this mode the R100 can shoot up to about 6.5 frames per second.

Servo AF for things that move

Servo AF keeps chasing focus as your subject moves. Use it for kids, pets and sports. The burst rate drops to about 3.5 frames per second in Servo AF. The Digital Picture calls that very slow. So instead of holding the button and hoping, watch for the peak moment, like the top of a jump, and press right then.

Turn on Eye Detection

Canon says the R100's Eye Detection can find human eyes from long distances, and it keeps working on moving subjects in Servo AF. Digital Camera World lists its subject detection as eyes, face, head and body for humans. For people photos, this is the most helpful autofocus setting you can switch on.

Living without a touchscreen

The rear screen is not touch sensitive, so you navigate with buttons. PetaPixel points out that a touchscreen would have made it easier to move the autofocus point around. A simple workaround: let face and eye detection pick your subject for you, and only move the focus point by hand when you shoot something without a face. If you want more help with autofocus areas on a close cousin of this camera, the Canon R50 autofocus guide covers the same ideas.

Setting 4: Keep ISO low, raise it when you must

The R100's standard ISO range is 100 to 12800, expandable to 25600. You start an ISO change with a rear cross key button, since the camera does not have a dedicated top ISO button.

Here is a simple habit to build:

• Bright sunshine: use the lowest ISO.
• Shade or cloudy days: raise it a little.
• Indoors or at dusk: raise it as much as you need to keep the shutter fast enough for a sharp shot.

A little grain is better than a blurry photo. In Digital Camera World's comparison, R100 images showed noise levels similar to the Nikon and Sony cameras tested at lower sensitivities, while the Nikon Z30's high-ISO shots were cleaner. Digital Camera World also says that unless you shoot in very low light, you probably will not see an image quality difference between the R100 and the R50 for stills.

Setting 5: Choose a shutter speed that keeps photos sharp

Blurry photos usually come from one of two things: your hands moved, or your subject moved. A faster door fixes both.

As a starting point, try these and adjust from there:

What you are shooting	Autofocus	Shutter speed to try
Someone sitting for a portrait	One-Shot AF, Eye Detection on	1/125 or faster
Kids or pets playing	Servo AF, Eye Detection on	1/500 or faster
Landscape or building	One-Shot AF	1/125 or faster
Dim room, still subject	One-Shot AF	Slower is fine if you brace yourself

The R100 uses an electronic first-curtain shutter. PetaPixel describes it as quiet and stable, and says the camera should handle sharp pictures even at slower shutter speeds. Still, hold the camera with both hands, tuck your elbows in, and breathe out slowly as you press. For more on sharpness, the R50 blurry photos guide walks through causes and fixes that apply to the R100 too.

Your kit lens and the light

The R100 is sold body-only, with the Canon RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM lens, or in a two-lens kit that adds the Canon RF-S 55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM lens.

The 18-45mm kit lens has an f/4.5-6.3 aperture range. That is a smallish pupil, so it lets in less light than brighter lenses. PetaPixel says the lens gets worse in anything other than bright sunlight because of that aperture range, and TechRadar calls it pretty basic. This is why the ISO and shutter speed habits above matter so much on this kit.

If you later want a brighter lens, reviewers point to a few options. Digital Camera World highlights the Canon RF 28mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens, released alongside the R100. TechRadar recommends the Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary as a second lens after the kit lens.

Keep one more idea in mind. The R100's sensor has a 1.6x crop factor, which Digital Camera World says magnifies the focal length of your lenses for more reach on faraway subjects like wildlife or sports. A simple example: a lens behaves as if it zooms in a bit tighter on this camera.

Before your first outing

• Battery: the R100 uses Canon's LP-E17 battery. PetaPixel notes the camera does not support USB-C charging through the body, so you need to carry the wall charger when you travel. A spare battery is a smart buy.
• Memory card: there is a single UHS-I SD card slot, in the same compartment as the battery. Format a new card in the camera before your first shoot.
• Practice the buttons at home: because there is only one control dial, spend ten minutes changing ISO, focus mode and drive mode on the couch. Your fingers will remember when it counts.

A quick word on video

This guide is about photos, but you should know one thing before you press record. Canon lists 4K recording at 24p. Digital Camera World explains that 4K is captured with a 1.55x crop and slower contrast autofocus, and that you only get Dual Pixel CMOS AF in Full HD. Full HD goes up to 60 frames per second. If you film people moving around, Full HD keeps the better autofocus working for you.

Learning one setting at a time

Some reviewers are tough on the R100. PetaPixel argues its controls are clunky for beginners. TechRadar, by contrast, says the camera's limits can be a strength for first-time photographers. Both views can help you: fewer buttons means fewer things to learn at once.

Pick one setting from this guide each week. Week one, try aperture priority. Week two, switch between One-Shot and Servo AF. Week three, play with ISO in dim rooms. Every dark, bright or blurry frame along the way is a clue, not a mistake. If you want the same approach for other Canon bodies, see Best Canon Camera Settings for Beginners, or compare models in Best Canon Camera for Beginners.